Smoke from Lake County fire a danger to some

BAY AREA Elderly and children are urged to avoid strenuous physical activity, stay indoors

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, June 26, 2008

Photo: Bill Husa, AP

Image 1of/4

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 4

Smoke from nearby fires fills the air for those walking around in Downtown Chico Tuesday June 24, 2008. In less than a day, an electrical storm unleashed nearly 8,000 lightning strikes that set more than 800 wildfires across Northern California _ a rare example of "dry lightning" that brought little or no rain but plenty of sparks to the state's parched forests and grasslands. (AP Photo/Bill Husa - Chico Enterprise-Record) less

Smoke from nearby fires fills the air for those walking around in Downtown Chico Tuesday June 24, 2008. In less than a day, an electrical storm unleashed nearly 8,000 lightning strikes that set more than 800 ... more

Photo: Bill Husa, AP

Image 2 of 4

More than 58 people set up a make shift evacuation center behind the Dome Store due to the fires caused by lightning Tuesday, June 24, 2008 in Butte Coundy, CA. In less than a day, an electrical storm unleashed nearly 8,000 lightning strikes that set more than 800 wildfires across Northern California _ a rare example of "dry lightning" that brought little or no rain but plenty of sparks to the state's parched forests and grasslands. (AP Photo/Ty Barbour - Chico Enterprise Record) less

More than 58 people set up a make shift evacuation center behind the Dome Store due to the fires caused by lightning Tuesday, June 24, 2008 in Butte Coundy, CA. In less than a day, an electrical storm unleashed ... more

Photo: Ty Barbour, AP

Image 3 of 4

Cal Fire engines, mostly from Southern California, pour into the Camelot subdivision for structure protection as the Empire fire grows in Butte County, CA., Tuesday June 24, 2008. In less than a day, an electrical storm unleashed nearly 8,000 lightning strikes that set more than 800 wildfires across Northern California _ a rare example of "dry lightning" that brought little or no rain but plenty of sparks to the state's parched forests and grasslands. (AP Photo/Ty Barbour - Chico Enterprise Record) less

Cal Fire engines, mostly from Southern California, pour into the Camelot subdivision for structure protection as the Empire fire grows in Butte County, CA., Tuesday June 24, 2008. In less than a day, an ... more

Photo: Ty Barbour, AP

Image 4 of 4

This natural-color image provided by NASA shows smoke from actively burning wildfires in northern California that was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASAs Aqua satellite on Monday, June 23, 2008. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. The lightning-caused fires have scorched tens of thousands of acres and forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes, though few buildings have been destroyed, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (AP Photo/NASA) less

This natural-color image provided by NASA shows smoke from actively burning wildfires in northern California that was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASAs Aqua satellite on ... more

Photo: NASA, AP

Smoke from Lake County fire a danger to some

1 / 4

Back to Gallery

The smoke is getting smokier in the Bay Area from the hundreds of blazes, big and small, that have swept through dangerously dry Northern and Central California.

The air in parts of the North Bay and East Bay will officially be unhealthy and "unhealthy for sensitive groups" today, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. On Wednesday, air pollution was only moderate.

"We've gone up a step," said district spokeswoman Kristine Roselius. "It's terrible. There are just so many fires out there, and the smoke is coming down and impacting the Bay Area."

Seniors and children should stay inside with the windows closed if possible, a tough thing to do on a sunny summer day.

Latest news videos

The primary source of the smoke locally remains the out-of-control Walker Fire in Lake County, which has burned 14,000 acres and is only 5 percent contained. Fire officials expect the amount of blackened acreage to grow substantially as firefighters conduct deliberate burns to curtail the fire's spread.

"We're doing a little bit better," he said. "Humidity is up and winds are down. We're able to get more of a handle on things. We're digging a lot of fire line."

The fire, which began Sunday, had threatened the Spring Valley subdivision northeast of Clearlake, but the area is now considered safe, Connor said. Bartlett Springs, Walker Ridge and Elk Mountain roads remain closed.

Health officials in Lake County said air pollution was two to three times the amount considered safe by federal standards.

"All of Northern California is being impacted by severely degraded air quality," said Lake County health officer Karen Tait. "Residents should be prepared to stay indoors and avoid vigorous physical activity."

In the Sierra, smoke from the fires was threatening to cancel the world-famous Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile foot race from Squaw Valley to Auburn that is scheduled to begin Saturday. Organizers were expected to decide by today whether conditions would allow them to go ahead as planned.

In the Bay Area, unhealthy air is predicted throughout the Eastern District today, including Concord, Livermore, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, the air quality district said. Unhealthy air for sensitive people - those with lung disease, for example, as well as children and older adults - is predicted for the North Counties, including Calistoga, Napa, Novato, Petaluma, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Sonoma and Vallejo.

In Monterey County, where the Indians Fire has burned nearly 60,000 acres west of King City since a campfire got out of control June 8, evacuations were ordered Wednesday for residents of thinly populated Arroyo Seco Road, from Carmel Valley Road to the Arroyo Seco campgrounds.

In that blaze, two homes and 13 outbuildings have been destroyed, 14 firefighters have been injured and more than 500 buildings are threatened. Nearly 2,000 firefighters, aided by a slight increase in humidity, were concentrating on the fire's northeast flank Wednesday.

Crews from Nevada and Oregon have arrived to help fight the hundreds of fires that have broken out in the northern half of the state, most of which were caused by lightning strikes over the weekend.

Major blazes include the 7,500-acre Lime Complex fire in Trinity County, the 2,000-acre Yuba River Complex fire in Placer County, the 12,000-acre Shu Lightning Complex fire in Shasta County and the 20,000-acre Mendocino Lightning Complex fire in Mendocino County.

"It's just extremely, extremely dry," said spokesman Daniel Berlant of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The lightning strikes Saturday were from an unusual summertime weather system that wandered into the central and northern part of the state. Another round of lightning could arrive Friday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Warren Blier, but it is not expected to be anywhere near as intense as last weekend's.

Winds are expected to shift from the northwest to the south in coming days, Blier said. That means the Bay Area may no longer be breathing the smoke from the big Lake County fire, but may instead be breathing the smoke from the big Monterey County fire.

"It could still be smoky," Blier said. "Just different smoke."

To view a map showing significant fires in California, go to:

sfgate.com/maps/fires2008

WEATHER PAGE

-- For the air quality forecast in your neighborhood, see the weather page. B8

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.